And on a recent trip, what started as a joke with paramedics, became a moving story about cancer, a dad, and his son's ballgame.
It's been more than a year since Jim Orr was diagnosed with stage four melanoma and since then he's been in and out of hospitals for either radiation or like today, blood transfusions.
"Whenever my blood counts are low they make me come back in," Orr said.
It was during a trip to a radiation appointment in an ambulance that Jim met EMTI Della Bornman and paramedic Dan Carlton.
"I said if you're not doing anything after work you can take me to my son's game," Orr said.
Jim says he was joking around. But the request resonated with Carlton and his partner.
"We just thought it was important to make it happen for him just to make him happy, give him some sunshine in his day," Carlton said.
Doctors were called and exceptions were made and next thing you know Jim and his wife were loading-up in an ambulance for a surprise trip to a baseball diamond in Camas.
I just cried because I knew how much it would mean to him so it touched my heart.
And she wasn't alone. The game was stopped when Jim arrived.
It was pretty cool to see the kids get excited.
And things only got better. Two innings into the game Jim's son Alex walked to the plate.
"It was a really slow pitch, by my face, so I drilled it over in left field," Alex said.
Alex hit a home run and he sprinted around the bases, refusing to stop until he reached his dad.
"He gave me a big hug and I said hey buddy good job," Orr said.
Perhaps nobody knows the emotions and feelings of this incident, better than Jim Orr.
The Orr family says they're grateful not only to the ambulance service but to social workers and their health insurance provider for making the trip possible.
